Fifteen came to this ASK Salt Spring gathering to welcome Royal Roads University’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Philip Steenkamp. In his Territorial Acknowledgement, he spoke of the natural order of seasons in indigenous cultures with spring a time of reuniting, shellfish and greens gathering, and preparation for the coming season of salmon fishing. Reminding us how we can learn from their practices, he told us that the land-based curriculum of Royal Roads University (RRU) is rooted in these natural imperatives of our land and its seasons. 

We all had a chance to introduce ourselves, revealing that most had come to learn about RRU’s plans for the recently bequeathed Beddis property. Some came out of simple curiosity while others were fueled by deep concern that the love and careful stewardship for this beautiful property continue under RRU’s ownership.  

When asked what “excited and delighted” him, Philip shared his love of wild swimming in the ocean and abundant lakes, with the wonders of the ocean at Beddis Beach among his favourite. He also shared his delight in finding treasures at thrift stores. While he finds that many thrift stores have gotten quite expensive, he loves our Lady Minto Thrift Store, with its great prices, huge community spirit, and abundant treasures. Noting his shirt had come from Lady Minto, participants enjoyed extolling the virtues of our great thrift store, pointing out its treasures that they, too, were wearing. 

On this fun note, we began learning all about Royal Roads University, RRU, ( https://www.royalroads.ca/).Philip told us that the main RRU campus, a stunning 565 acre property, had been the Dunsmuir Family home (https://thecastle.ca/about/meet-the-dunsmuirs/) from 1907 until 1937 when it was purchased for a military college for $75,000. This lovely property and old buildings served as a military college from 1940 until 1995 when it became the newly-established Royal Roads University. 

Markedly-different from other Canadian colleges, RRU has a unique governance structure and mandate. Instead of the traditional governance comprised of a Board of Governors and Senate, RRU is governed by a single Board of Governors to allow for a more agile educational system. Its mandate is to offer applied, professional coursework flexible enough to respond to changing labour market needs. With the average student age of 39 years old and 82% of the students completing graduate coursework, RRU’s mandate to create the coursework needed for professional advancement in our rapidly-changing world is unique among Canadian universities.  

In addition to the Colwood campus, a new campus, John Horgan Campus (https://www.royalroads.ca/campus/rru-langford-john-horgan-campus), opened last fall in downtown Langford. Focused on undergraduate studies, its mission is to offer nearby educational opportunities to the many without college degrees in Langford, one of our fastest growing communities. Partnering with local colleges and universities, this new campus offers residents a wide variety of nearby educational opportunities. 

In 2025, RRU also opened an international campus in the United Arab Emirates (https://royalroads.ae/) with a student body of 500 and a focus on blending global perspectives and research to prepare professionals for our rapidly-changing world. 

The focus of our conversation shifted to the interest of many – plans for the RRU Salt Spring campus (https://www.royalroads.ca/campus/rru-salt-spring-island). The Bloom Canadian Alter Ego Trust recently gifted the late Susan Bloom’s Salt Spring estate to RRU, the largest bequest this university has ever received: (https://www.royalroads.ca/news/royal-roads-receives-largest-gift-universitys-history). Susan Bagley Bloom, an environmental philanthropist and pioneer in land conservation and regenerative sustainability, was a long-time local resident who wanted this amazing property to go to an educational institution with the ability to bring together students, scholars, researchers, writers, artists, musicians and other members of the community. Her vision was that they would be the change makers who would advance the values of regenerative sustainability on the Gulf Islands and beyond.

Considering a number of universities for this endowment, Bloom Trustees decided that RRU was the best fit for Susan’s vision for the property. Also included in this endowment is over $5 million for ongoing maintenance and operations. 

RRU has taken time to engage with our community and First Nations about the future of this property, proceeding with a clear understanding of their responsibility to protect this lovely property, honour centuries of First Nations history there, and maintain its peaceful and pastoral nature. Last October, RRU brought together community leaders to discuss future uses of this unique property. Adding to this engagement have been numerous conversations with First Nations coupled with studies of the property, engineering analyses of the buildings, and botanical studies of its many plants and trees. Taking this engagement and multiple studies very seriously, Philip expects a report of the findings to be released in a month. 

We were offered Six Core Themes, a preview of some of the conclusions of this report: 

1. Leadership and Governance will be offered by an advisory council to guide the programming and ensure responsiveness to community priorities. While the process for selecting this council has not been fully determined, Philip expects it will be comprised of local knowledge holders, leaders and youth from local First Nations, and Gulf Islands community members. It is Philip’s intention to convene the first meeting of this council by the end of this summer. 
2. Educational Programming is expected to maximize community relevance through short, land-based courses. Already partnered with the Farmland Trust (https://www.ssifarmlandtrust.org/), Philip envisions many other partnerships with local organizations, building upon programming that is already being offered and enhancing it with hands on learning opportunities on the land. Philip also envisions bringing current RRU students from a variety of disciplines to offer suggestions for the property. These suggestions could range from water retention/storage improvements, an exploration of the history/architecture, orchard management, food production, communications, and possibly creation of a business model for the educational programming. Guiding all programming decisions will be the respect for the rich heritage of the property as well as consideration for neighbours to ensure that the numbers of students on the property are limited and monitored. 
3. Focus on the Primary Beneficiaries will be Gulf Island residents with a particular emphasis on high school graduates and post-secondary students needing training to advance in their careers but also including the educational needs of retirees, seniors, and the Indigenous community.
4. Operational Sustainability is essential to ensure that educational programmes will be both accessible and sustainable. Philanthropic partnerships will be needed to ensure that the use and stewardship of the land is both sustainable and accessible to all for the long term.
5. Challenges Must be Recognized and Honoured, understanding that the home is only accessible for very small groups and that programming on the property must be almost entirely outdoors. And, that this land-based curriculum must be developed on a scale that maintains the trust of neighbours. Communications, also, must be thoughtfully navigated so that divergent Salt Spring opinions result in strong local collaborations rather than divisiveness. 
6. Challenges and the Opportunities Must be Balanced, developing local partnerships, maintaining continuous engagement with the community, dynamic lifelong learning programming, and employing measurements to identify successes as well as the need for change as needed.

Next steps are to finalize and release a report detailing engagement and studies to date by next month, solidify a strategic plan this June, bring over a few students and faculty this summer, and begin holding advisory council meetings by the end of this summer.

When a participant asked about the sustainability of the Bloom castle, called by some as Teutonic Japanese, we learned that a team had inspected the 65 year old building prior to the transfer They developed a priority list of needs, both immediate and future. High on this list of immediate concerns was electrical, which has just been upgraded. This spring, parts of the roof will also be replaced. Immediate work is also planned on the dock, gazebo, bank erosion concerns, and water conservation initiatives. 

There are currently no plans to build additional buildings on this property. Any additional facilities needed to offer educational programming will come from local partnerships, providing accommodations, larger classroom spaces, and other needs. 

When a neighbour expressed concern about parking, Philip shared that this was his biggest concern about the property. He estimates that only a limited number of vehicles can be parked easily. He is aware of the congestion caused by events like the long-running Apple Festival, each year resulting in many cars parked along the road and on the waterlines. Philip and his colleagues are pondering how many local events, like the Apple Festival, the property can sustain, with a sense that such events must be limited. 

Weddings? No plans at this time. Philip also reminded us that there are already many great places to get married on Salt Spring. He is determined that this rare and beautiful land must be stewarded thoughtfully and sustainably to bring unique learning, not replicate already existing options. He is committed that Susan Bloom’s vision for the land remain paramount. 

To ensure cost is not a detriment to attending courses here or at any other RRU venues, we learned that a university-wide fundraising initiative is underway. With high hopes for the success of this effort, plans are that approximately $10 million will be raised for student financial assistance at the various RRU campuses. If successful, some of this funding may be available to support local students. 

We learned from Philip that business and industry are increasingly looking for relevant skills not simply credentials. RRU is well-placed to respond top this shift toward hands on expertise and experience. RRU courses offer the benefit of also leading to certification and degrees, allowing students to ladder courses to build a degree. Easy transfer of these RRU credits to other universities for degree completion elsewhere is also an important component of the RRU philosophy. 

As fun diversion, we also asked a participant to pick a name from the fish bowl for a door prize: Ron Cooke won a RRU hoodie! Philip expressed hope that he will wear it often as some publicity for Salt Spring’s first ever local university. 

Want to learn more: Suggest a promising partnership? Identify a potential volunteer? Suggest an advisory council member? Introduce a possible employee? Donate money? Or just want to reach out for a conversation? Contact Susan Gee, Vice-President, External Relations, at: Susan.1gee@royalroads.ca. 

We left quite excited about the wonderful gift given to us by Susan Bloom’s vision and love of the land. We were also impressed by the care RRU is committing to ensure that this amazing gift benefits us as we endeavour to understand and implement the sustainability we need to carry us into the future. We thanked Philip for his commitment to this vision, openness to local feedback, enthusiasm for this unique opportunity to transform education on Salt Spring, and his clear love of the amazing property. (Thanks, Philip!) 

Just in case you are interested. . . .This report has been written by Gayle Baker, founder of ASK Salt Spring, currently also a Salt Spring Local Community Commissioner. It has been reviewed by Philip and his team.